In the Lion's Den
by mdseiran
Summary: What would you do if the person closest to you suddenly disappears? The clock is ticking, and there's no time to lose. Will everything work out as our heroes hope?


Some of you might recognize this from the Conanmania ML, but this is a rewritten (and hopefully better) version. 

Disclaimer (Do I have to write one??): I am currently broke, so a lawsuit wouldn't do you much good I'm afraid. However, I'm worried about my reputation, so I'll just admit that the characters are not mine, I just love playing around with them, so get ready for anything!!

Furthermore, I will try as much as I can to stick to the Japanese way of writing names (surnames first), as it sounds a lot better to me at this moment. Oh, and for those who haven't read this yet: I never give away any hints, no matter how hard you ask!! ;)

Ok, enough blabbing. On with the story………………

In the Lion's Den

Chapter One

The phone rang in the Mouris' residence. Ran hurried out of the kitchen to pick up the phone that was ringing persistently. She was wearing an apron, and she was holding a knife in her hands. She had been cooking dinner for her father and Conan, and she wasn't happy with the interruption. The irritation was obvious in her voice as she answered the phone. "Hello?"

A voice she knew well answered her. "Ran, it's me." It was Sonoko, Ran's classmate and friend.

"Sonoko, how are you? You haven't called for a long time."

"Yeah, I know. I've been busy. I had a few dates and a few parties. You know what it's like."

"If that isn't typically Sonoko," Ran thought as she tried to concentrate on what her friend was saying. But she couldn't get her head to keep following the conversation. Her mind was wandering to earlier times, when Sonoko used to tease her about her not having any boyfriends. Until the day she had told her about Shinichi. A grin appeared on her face when she remembered Sonoko's surprise at hearing she'd found somebody she liked. Had liked for as long as she had known him. Sonoko had teased her about it unmercifully, but Ran really didn't mind. In a way, it was fun talking about Shinichi behind his back. Soon the grin was replaced by a wistfully sad smile. Remembering Shinichi brought back the last time she'd seen him, and the feeling she'd got when he left her in the street. 

Suddenly Sonoko's voice awoke her from her thoughts. She suddenly realized Sonoko was asking her something. "Wh-What did you say?"

"I said, how about going shopping with me tomorrow? You seem distracted, what's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong. Tomorrow is fine with me. Why don't you come here so we can walk to the new mall close by?"

"Great. See you tomorrow then."

Sonoko hung up, and Ran returned to the kitchen to finish dinner. She tried to put all thoughts out of her mind, but her mind kept wandering back to Shinichi. He hadn't called in a while now, she realized. And she missed him. A lot. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she quickly started to cut some onions to hide them.

She heard a door slam, and a few minutes later Conan walked into the kitchen. "Hi, Ran-neechan. Hmmm, that smells good." On looking closer Conan saw that Ran was crying. "Ran-neechan? Why are you crying?" 

Ran quickly dried her tears. "Silly boy, can't you see I'm cutting onions? They always make you cry." 

Even though the explanation sounded reasonable, Conan didn't believe her. "But Ran-neechan, the food you made doesn't need any onions." 

Ran looked up sharply to stare in Conan's face. "He is such a smart kid," she thought. "You are right! Well, I'll just use them some other time, then." She quickly put away the onions and turned her back to Conan. 

"Dinner is almost ready. Why don't you go set the table?"

"All right." Ran let out a deep sigh as soon as Conan left the kitchen. It wasn't like her to be uncomfortable around Conan, but he was just too smart for his own good. She walked to the window, and stared at the stars, wondering where Shinichi was and what he was doing…

*_*_*_*

Somewhere outside, a person was watching Ran's every move. There was a mobile phone in his left hand, and binoculars in the other. There was a weird smile on his face that seemed happy and sad at the same time, as well as remorseful. But despite the sadness in the smile, the person couldn't but feel excited when he thought about what was soon going to happen.

The person waited a few more minutes, then put the binoculars and the cell phone in a pocket, and moved slowly and quietly from his hiding place. He had a meeting to attend.

*_*_*_*

Fifteen minutes later, in a dark empty alley, three men were holding a meeting. Two of the men were wearing black, while the third was completely in white. The first man was wearing dark sunglasses and a black hat, while the other man didn't wear anything to hide his face. His hair was long and blond. The blond man was holding a conversation in low tones while his friend stood watch. The man with the sunglasses turned around to look over his shoulder once in a while. It was obvious that he was worried about the meeting with the man in white, while his friend's face didn't show any expressions. His face was cold, as were his eyes.

"Are you sure nobody followed you?" There was doubt in the blond man's voice. The other man looked at him with a sneer on his face.

"Positive. I'm an expert, remember?"

"You know what I mean!" the blond man bit back. "You know what would happen if anyone found out about the Organization from you, don't you? I'd have to kill you."

The person in white smirked. "You'd have to catch me first. Even the best detectives in the country can't catch me, what makes you think YOU can?"

He was granted a cold glare. "We have our ways."

The man in white shrugged. "Right. Whatever. Nobody will find out anything through me. Just as long as you keep your part of the deal and give me my payment."

The other man smiled, a cold smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Don't worry. You'll get paid when your job is done completely."

"That's good. Well, I'd better go. I have a busy day tomorrow." 

Before the two men knew what was happening, the man in white ran silently towards a high wall and jumped on top of it as silent as a cat would have done. He stood on the wall for a few quiet moments, silently observing the two men with a slight smile.

"Goodbye, gentlemen. I hope to see you soon." And with that he jumped off the wall to the other side and disappeared like a silent cat, as if the ground had swallowed him up.

The man with the glasses shuddered. "That guy gives me the creeps every time I see him. I'm always afraid he'll jump on me from some unnoticed place."

The other man didn't give him more than a glance before turning away. "I doubt that he would have to stay in an unnoticed place to be able to jump on you. He could stand just in front of you, waiting to jump, and you wouldn't even notice."

He ignored the other man's protest, and walked towards a black car parked nearby. "Let's head back to headquarters."

*_*_*_*

Half an hour later, the two men were standing in a dark room. The blond man looked very sure of himself, while it was obvious that the other man had doubts.

"Aniki, are you sure this will work?" The man with the black hat looked at his partner's face. 

"Yes, Vodka, I'm sure this will work. I'm not stupid enough to put a plan that might fail. No, I've taken care of everything. This time Kudo won't get away this easily. I'll make sure he's DEAD before I leave him lying in the street. I only wish I could do this job myself. I would have enjoyed torturing him with this."

Vodka looked surprised at Gin's words. "Aniki, you know we're doing this to make sure nobody suspects the Organization had anything to do with it. Just be patient. You'll get your chance. As soon as Kudo is in our secret lair, you can do whatever you want to do with him."

Gin looked at Vodka, the coolness obvious in his voice. "You think I don't know all that, Vodka? Why do you think I gave this job to someone who doesn't have connections to the organization? You think I did that for fun?" 

His eyes were as cold as ice now, and Vodka backed off, afraid that Gin might take out all his anger and bitterness on him. Gin noticed that, but did nothing to make Vodka feel more comfortable. 

"Anyway, make sure that the men are ready for the job. The package will reach here tomorrow. Make sure they're ready for it." After that he left the room, leaving Vodka behind with even more doubts fixing constantly in his mind.

*_*_*_*

When Conan came home from school and after being delayed a few hours by his friends, he was surprised to find the house empty. He had expected to find Ran there, making dinner as usual, but when he walked into the kitchen he found it empty. There were no pans dirtied, which meant that Ran hadn't even attempted to make dinner. So where was she?

He walked to his room, thinking deeply, She hadn't told him she was going anywhere. When he came to his bedroom, he found a small note stuck on the door. Ran's handwriting was visible on it. He snatched up the note, and started reading it. 

_Conan-kun, I went shopping with Sonoko. There are some sandwiches for you in the fridge. They should last you till I get home, which should be about 6 pm. See you then._

Ran 

Conan scratched his head while walking to his room. He was wondering why Ran hadn't mentioned this yesterday. He remembered her crying yesterday, claiming it was because of the onions. But he knew that it was because of him. He had caused her so much pain. He shuddered to think about it. He hadn't called her as Shinichi in a while now. He hadn't been able to call and keep up a cheerful conversation while all the while remembering how often she cried because of him. She was probably upset because of that, and that's why she hadn't told him that she was going out.

Even though Conan came up with a reasonable explanation, he wasn't satisfied. He glanced at his watch, and saw that it was almost 6 pm. He could just wait for her, he reasoned with himself. But something was bothering him. It was a feeling that something was wrong. Something to do with Ran. He couldn't shake the feeling that she was in some sort of danger.

Once this thought manifested itself in Conan's mind, he became so worried that he decided to go after Ran and make sure that she was safe. He knew that he was being paranoid, and that Ran would probably laugh at him, but he had to make sure. He burst through the front door and ran as fast as his legs could carry him towards the shopping mall, hoping that he would find everything alright…

*_*_*_*

Vodka entered the room in which Gin was sitting, a worried expression on his face. He tried to conceal his worry, but Gin noticed at once that something was wrong.

Before Vodka could utter a word, Gin looked at him with a cold expression in his eyes.

"Don't tell me… You're worried about our plan."

Vodka looked at him, surprised that Gin knew exactly what was on his mind.

"Are the men ready?"

"Yes, they're ready. Aniki… What do you plan to do exactly? I mean, I know your plan, but what good is it going to do?" 

Gin looked at him, his evilness obvious in his eyes. "I plan to give Kudo Shinichi the greatest surprise he's ever had… A surprise that will change his live forever… And END it!"

Vodka shuddered at the evil gleam in Gin's eyes, and shuddered even more when Gin's evil laughter filled the room…

*_*_*_*

"Sonoko, can we please stop for a while? I'm too tired to go on."

Ran stopped Sonoko in the middle of the street, grabbing her friend's arm and forcing her to slow down. Sonoko looked at her in surprise. 

"Ran, it isn't like you to get tired this easily. What's wrong? You know you can tell me anything."

Ran was torn between wanting to tell her friend everything and the need to keep her feelings inside her. She shook her head, and straightened to face Sonoko.

"It's nothing, really. I didn't sleep too well last night."

"Okay, whatever you say." Sonoko shrugged. She pointed to a nearby café. "How about if we take a rest and have something to drink? Then we can decide what to do next."

"Okay, that sounds like a good idea." Ran brightened up, deciding to put all her problems behind her and enjoy this rare day off. After all, it wasn't every day that she had such a nice break from having to take care of her father and Conan. She followed Sonoko to one of the tables and sat down, thinking about what to drink. 

She looked at Sonoko, wanting to ask her what she was going to take. She was surprised when Sonoko looked back at her, a mysterious smile touching her lips. "Ran, I need to make a short phone call. Just order whatever you want. I'll be back in a few minutes."

She scooped up her shoulder bag, and moved towards a dark alley, the mysterious smile deepening the closer she got to it. Ran, who had been watching her to see where she was going, was becoming very confused. What was Sonoko up to?

*_*_*_*

Conan had left the house, directing his steps to the new mall close by, but when he got there he found that it was closed already. He uttered a silent curse, then tried to think what he would do if he was in the girls' place after shopping for a long time. Finally, his mind came up with the answer. He ran towards the place he had set his mind on, hoping to find Ran there. 

He was starting to feel desperate. He had already been to several places, but he hadn't been able to find Ran anywhere. He was almost ready to go and call home to see if she had come back while he was looking for her, but then he saw her, sitting in front of the café. 

His heart started to beat soundly in his chest. It had been foolish to get worried like that, he thought. He was getting pathetic and paranoid, two traits that were best left alone. Still, he couldn't help feeling relieved. 

He was about to tell himself that he had been stupid enough to think she was in danger, when something hit him. Wasn't Ran supposed to be with Sonoko? So where was she?

Suddenly a quiet voice caught his ears. It was a woman's voice. He couldn't hear the words, but something struck him about the tone. It sounded familiar, but somehow it couldn't place the disembodied voice. It sounded very serious. 

He listened carefully, trying to make out what the person was saying, but he was standing too far away to hear anything. He scooped a little closer, hoping to see the person from where he was standing. What he saw made him draw his brows together. 

He saw Sonoko standing in the dark alley, talking to someone through her cell phone. But he had never heard her use such a serious tone before. It just wasn't like her. What on earth was going on?

He inched even closer, and was lucky enough to catch a few words, but they stopped him short. 

"What does she mean? Those words are so strange. What does she mean by 'ready for action'? What action?" He tried to get even closer to her, hoping to find out more about this new mystery before him, but she had already hung up, and was heading towards Ran, sitting down opposite of her. 

He couldn't make up his mind. Should he go home, or should he wait to see what would happen? That was foolish, he knew. Ran would be completely fine. That phone call couldn't have been anything but a silly prank Sonoko was planning on Ran. Pranks weren't dangerous, were they? 

When he had finally made up his mind to just go home and wait for Ran to get back herself, something stopped him. It was the same feeling he had experienced before he had set off to find Ran. The feeling that something was wrong.

What to do? Stay or leave. _Oh, what the heck?_ He sighed, and made himself a bit more comfortable. Ran probably wouldn't take long. He could wait for her here.

He crouched down a bit more to make sure that Ran didn't see him. She would be sure to give him a mouthful about manners and that he shouldn't follow people around, he thought. As if he were a little kid!

He sighed again, and decided he'd better take his mind off these kind of thoughts and focus on Ran and Sonoko, lest they disappear or something. He saw Ran and Sonoko laughing and telling jokes, but then something made him look closer. Sonoko was telling Ran something in low tones, and Ran was listening attentively. Then he heard Ran give a delighted whoop, and heard her say: "A surprise for me? Where is it?"

Sonoko took her arm. "It's close by. Let's go and I'll show it to you."

Saying that, she pulled Ran along with her, talking excitedly all the time. It didn't take long for Conan to decide to follow them. 

He moved quietly towards them, taking care not to lose them, walking through streets and alleys, from one dark place to another, making him shiver, until they stopped in front of an old building.

"This is the place! Let's go Ran!" Ran looked doubtfully at the old building, which looked as if it was about to crumble down into pieces. "Are you sure the surprise is here? This building looks so…old." 

Sonoko laughed. "Don't worry Ran, we're not lost if that's what you're thinking. This is definitely the right place. Let's go up, and I'll show you the surprise. Let's go!" Ran moved towards the door, even though she was a bit worried. But she trusted Sonoko, so she followed her into the building. 

Conan, who saw Ran follow Sonoko into the building, hurried towards the door as well, but when he got there, there was no sign of Ran.

"Kuso! I lost them! But I can't give up now. I have to find her! I have to make sure she's alright."

*_*_*_*

In the meantime, Ran was still following Sonoko through the building. They had been walking around for a while, since the building was quite big, but finally Sonoko stopped in a big hall. Ran stopped as well, and looked about her anxiously. The room was big, but it wasn't in a very good condition. There were holes in the wall, and the only window in the room was broken, the glass still lying on the ground. In front of her was another door, which was closed. Wherever Ran looked, she couldn't find the surprise they had come for.

"So where's the surprise?" she asked Sonoko reluctantly.

Sonoko looked at hear with a sneer, which surprised Ran very much. "The surprise? It's right here." 

Saying that Sonoko took a small whistle out of her shoulder bag, and blew it three times. Suddenly, men wearing black clothes jumped in through the broken window and the door, which they had opened. They quickly surrounded Ran and Sonoko, who stood looking at them with the same sneer on her face. One of the men, obviously their leader, approached the two girls.

"Well well, we finally meet…" Ran looked at him with a frightened expression. "What do you mean? I don't even know you! Sonoko, who are those people?" Sonoko didn't answer, but just kept looking at Ran with the same expression. Ran turned back to the man standing in front of her. It was obvious that he was a bit taken aback by her answer, but he soon recovered from his surprise, and turned an evil smile unto her. "You mean you don't know who we are? Didn't your boyfriend tell you about us?"

Ran stared at him with a look of pure confusion. He was talking about Shinichi, she realized. But what had Shinichi got to do with these men?

Before she could ask the man what he meant, the man took an envelope from his breast pocket and gave it to Sonoko. "Here, Gin told us to give you this. I suppose it's your payment." He threw the envelope over to Sonoko, who caught it with another sneer. Then Ran caught her breath; for the voice that came out of her mouth wasn't Sonoko's voice; it was a man's voice. 

"Arigato. Give my greetings to Gin and tell him I enjoyed working with him." Ran turned to stare at the man disguised as Sonoko with all the fear she had been feeling obvious in her eyes and voice. "But… That can't be… That's… That's not Sonoko!"

"Of course I'm not Sonoko! Let me introduce myself: I'm Kaitou Kid… The Phantom Thief…"

Ran looked at him in shock, then turned back to the leader of the group. "What do you want from me?" she suddenly asked. 

The man laughed. "You'll know soon enough." He moved towards her, holding something in his hand. She tried to sidestep him, but he was faster than her. He pressed the handkerchief over her mouth and nose. Ran started to feel very sleepy all of a sudden. But she couldn't give up! She shouldn't…

Ran managed to scream before she slumped to the ground. The man picked her up, turning to face Kid. "We'll be going. It's better if you change your appearance, just in case."

"Will do. I'll use my true face." Saying that, he pulled off Sonoko's clothes, to reveal his white cape and hat. "I'll be going too. See you!" And away he went leaving the men to carry Ran through the window.

*_*_*_*

Conan heard Ran scream just as he was about to give up. He ran to the source of the sound as fast as he could. He reached the big room, but of course there was no one there. He scanned the room for any clues, and suddenly his eyes detected something lying on the floor. He moved towards it, and picked it up. 

As soon as he was able to see the object clearly, he gasped. It was Ran's shoulder bag! But where was Ran? He sprinted to the window, and looked out upon the street. What he saw there stopped his breathing. He saw Kaitou Kid walking quietly through the alley, whistling a quiet tune. Ran was nowhere in sight, but suddenly he saw a black car drive with great speed towards the main road. He couldn't see who was sitting in the car, but he started for the door, intending to find out if Ran was in that car. 

Suddenly he tripped over something. He picked himself up, and looked down to see what had caused him to trip. As he saw the object, a cold hand clutched his heart. He had tripped over the clothes Sonoko had been wearing. 

Suddenly he understood everything. That wasn't Sonoko! It was Kid! And that meant that Ran had been kidnapped! He remembered the black car, and a chill ran up his spine. He was sure that that car belonged to the Black Organization. But what he was even surer of was that Ran had been kidnapped by those people he had been trying to protect her from. A feeling of desperateness came over him. "My God… Ran, I'm so sorry. Ran! Where are you???" 

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

Well, that's it for now. Next chapter will be uploaded as soon as it's rewritten. And PLEASE review!!! It will only encourage me. The more reviews, the faster the chapter!! ^_~


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